Ahead of polls, 10,000 bottles of liquor worth ₹7.5 lakh seized in Greater Noida

On Thursday around 2 am, when a team of Bisrakh police were checking at the Tikri border, a loaded vehicle was spotted. When checked, 200 seal-packed boxes containing around 10,000 bottles were found, police said

Nearly a week ahead of the parliamentary election in the Gautam Budh Nagar constituency, Greater Noida police have seized 10,000 bottles of countrymade liquor worth ₹7.5 lakh in Bisrakh locality early Thursday, said officers, adding that two people have been arrested.

Two men who were smuggling the liquor have been arrested. (HT Photo)

The suspects were instructed to reach the Yamuna Expressway before being updated about the next destination, they added.

“On Thursday around 2 am, when a team of Bisrakh police were checking at the Tikri border, a loaded vehicle was spotted heading towards Bisrakh locality from the Haryana side…when checked, 200 seal-packed boxes containing around 10,000 bottles were found,” said Bisrakh station house officer Arvind Kumar, adding that the bottles carry Haryana trademarks.

“The accused identified themselves as Sagar Kumar alias Monty, 31; and Raman (single name), 28, both residents of Palam in Delhi,” the officer said.

During interrogation, the suspects revealed that they brought the liquor from Ballabhgarh in Haryana, he said.

“In most of the cases, the exact location of delivery is not revealed to smugglers due to fear of police checking. So, they were instructed to reach one location to another over a phone call,” the SHO explained.

The accused had previous crime records. In 2020, they were booked on charges of Excise Act by Noida’s Sector 20 police.

A case under relevant sections of the Excise Act was registered against the two suspects at Bisrakh police station on Thursday.

In the past one-and-a-half months, Bisrakh police have nabbed two smugglers involved in smuggling liquor during the election. Due to the election, the city police intensified checking around the borders to prevent any illegal activity, the officer added.